Years ago, I deleted Facebook for a plethora of reasons . . . and with the intention of never, ever returning. However, after exclusion from a prayer group and a missed get-together because I’m not on Facebook, I decided to sign up again.

Frankly, I’m not totally thrilled about this. The thought of seeing highly-edited “highlight reels” posted by lovable but imperfect people does not excite me – although I admit not everyone uses Facebook for that purpose. The prospect of political tension and relearning “netiquette” makes me uncomfortable. I don’t long to face additional temptations to compare or waste time — nor do I look forward to exposing myself to judgement. (Let’s be real: it’s pretty unlikely that I’ll impress anyone with a lack of photos or a friends list in the double digits. And sure, I could just add everyone! But somehow I can’t reconcile myself to the belief that seeing pics of that one guy from six years ago is true connection – so why send the “friend” request at all?)

BUT. There are people I care about on Facebook. People who use Facebook intentionally. I still resist the idea of substituting face-to-face connection, or even a phone call, with digital exchanges between carefully constructed profiles; but if my people are there – sharing, communing, and praying – then I need to be there, too.